Demonic Winds: book 1
by FallenAngelOfLightAndDarkness
Summary: 1st in Demonic Winds book. Fem.Naru/sasu. Secrets revealed, mysteries solved, and happiness found. The smell of a demon is in the wind. *Joint writing* We own none of Naruto. Adopted by devixenrox85, so thank you!
1. shadowed beginings

Ch.1 Shadows Start  
>A small blond figure stumbled through the rainy streets, tall foreboding and dark buildings towering on either side of the small child, but providing no cover from the elements. As the icy cold rain washed the accumulated muck and grime from the blonde's shoulder length hair a damp, golden sheen was revealed despite the a dullness from lack of care. Looking up as Lightning flashed across the sky it was revealed that the blonde had cerulean blue eyes, they were a deep blue with flickering shadows of past and present suffering that no five year old should have.<br>Holding her hands to her stomach, Naruto tried to repress the small hunger pains that penetrated through her. Only three months since I was kicked out of the orphanage and already I am starving perhaps the matron was right, I am worthless, another rumble from her stomach came out with perfect synchronicity to the resounding clap of thunder. Flinching at the loud noise Naruto ducked into another street, this one containing restaurants and shops, some still open despite the storm. As she neared a bakery her mouth began to water as she smelled the bread baking within one of the stores, Naruto began creeping closer, sticking to the shadows the young girl tried to stay out of sight, knowing that nothing good could come if she were seen attempting to steal; even if it was food. Darting to the deeper shadows of a nearby alley as the door opened with the ringing of a bell Naruto watched as the chef; designated as such by his hat and other clothing, quickly walked over to the nearby garbage can and dropped a lumpy bag inside while muttering almost too quietly for Naruto to hear but she barely managed to catch "Gone stale..New batch...tomorrow." before running back inside his bakery to escape the storm. Filling with hope Naruto darted to the trash can before checking one last time to make sure she would be undisturbed she quickly grabbed the lumpy bag before darting back to the darker side of town she had been living in for the past month.

As she made it into the more run down part of the village she quickly ran into the closest alley and opened the bag. A delighted smile spread across her face as she saw slightly stale bread, ignoring the rapidly sogging due to the cold rain she quickly dug into the food, intent on satisfying her hunger on the few loaves she had managed to snag. As she finished however another figure walked into her alleyway, both pausing and staring in shock at one another neither moved before the man noticed the garbage bag still half full of bread, "Well, what have we here?

You stealin' little gaki?"

Swallowing her mouthful Naruto managed a feeble shake of the head,

"Well, I don' believe ya. Rumor says that a demon left the orphanage, are you that demon blondie? I think so boy."

Despite the obvious danger she found herself in, Naruto was confused, Boy? I'm a girl! But if they want to think of me as a boy who am I to change what they think. They wouldn't care. Bringing herself out of her thoughts she gave a small whimper of indecision while gazing longingly at the bread left in her garbage bag before scooting it closer to the older man. She knew she couldn't win if it came to a fight over the food.

Seeing her actions the man scrutinized the five year old in front of him before a sinister grin; revealing several broken and yellowing teeth, spread across his face. "Smart brat, ain't ya? Too bad, I'm sure if I killed ya, ya little demon the council'll pay me enough that I can get out of this hell hole and bye-bye Red Light district."

With his declaration of intent he grabbed a worn but obviously cared for knife from inside his ratty cloak before advancing upon the now terrified blonde. "Now just stand still demon scum!"  
>As he lunged Naruto darted to the side before running as fast as she could, but the man's yell of frustration and previous exclamation was drawing the attention of other shady and otherwise bystanders eager to get a chance to attack the demon brat. Looking back with wide eyes Naruto noticed a growing mob chasing her down; several whizzing kunai betrayed the presence of shinobi within the crowd. As she ran Naruto stuck to the shadows, using them to hide as best she could while darting over any obstructions in her path as she sought to flee from the cacophonous cries of those who wished her harm. She clung to the shadows while her heart raced in her chest, the pounding roar of her rushing blood filled her ears as she flitted from shadow to shadow in the rainy night, her form obstructed by the falling water and the darkness she used to cover herself.<br>The ever growing mob however now consisted of roughly seven people, yeet had it not been for the two retired shinobi; forced into such retirement due to injuries sustained in the Kyuubi attack, they would have lost the demon brat long ago. As they chased their victim down the held an ever growing fury at the difficulty of the chase along with an ignored grudging respect for the demon's ability to use shadows to hide, appearing as if a fleeing wraith before them.

As the cries of death and pain came closer Naruto turned into another street, appearing abandoned except for a small bar often frequented by the ninja of the village. Looking back to see the dark shapes of her pursuers growing Naruto dashed as fast as she could across the street, intent on slinking into a dark alleyway to hide. But as she neared the door of the bar, it opened revealing a tall man in his early twenties leaving the building while looking back and saying his farewells to someone inside. His tall gravity defying silver-grey hair stood off to an angle while his hitate-ite covered one of his eyes, while a dark facemask covered the rest of his face except for the one dark eye that could be seen widening with slight shock as he noticed the small child that was about to crash into him.

Falling to the ground Naruto looked up into the masked face of the man before her, who promptly offered a hand to help her up while asking "What is a kid like you doing here? What's your name?"

Naruto stared at the hand oddly while her mouth hung open, she was about to reply before looking back fearfully, hearing the mob grow closer. Noticing the direction of her attention the man's eye narrowed as he notice the incoming mob. Looking back down on the kid who was now getting back up he noticed faintly visible whisker marks showing beneath the dirt on the child's face, revealed only by the rain. His eye now widening in realization the silver haired man grabbed Naruto and gently but firmly pushed her behind him, "Run, go and hide somewhere I'll try to distract them or something."

Looking up in shock at the man who was willing to actually help her Naruto stared up into his one visible eye, committing the appearance of her helper to memory she gave a small nod before whispering "Thank you" and running off, but not before sending an unnoticed glance of concern for the silver haired man and darting off toward the general direction of the Red Light district of Konoha.

As the mob grew closer to the man left behind one of them shouted out "Oi! Hatake-san! You seen that demon run past here?"

The man, now identified as a Hatake looked directly towards the one who had spoken out, "No, I didn't see the demon, but I did see a dark shape about this tall" Here he motioned with his hand to about mid thigh, "Run over that way." Here he used his same hand to point in the opposite direction Naruto had run.

"Thanks Shinobi-san," Said one of the civilians before the group veered off in the direction pointed out, oblivious to the heated glare sent their way and the small mournful glance in the direction the small blonde had truly run off too. Stay safe Naruto, the council may forbid Sadaime and me from truly looking after you but I'll be damned if I don't help when I can thought Kakashi as he began walking towards the T&I department to give Ibiki a new list.

Naruto meanwhile had ran into the Red Light district, having heard rumors of the poor living conditions she figured it would be the safest place to lay low, and perhaps live if she could find a hopefully abandoned place. Hearing nothing but the heaving gasps of her own labored breathing Naruto sent another worried look back at the direction of the man who had helped her, W_hy would he help me? Nobody else helped me before, I hope he will be alright._

Finally getting control of her breathing Naruto looked to the left and saw a dark alley filled with half crumbling buildings, some made of rotting wood causing them to lean to the side and precariously balance on their neighbors or both leaning against each other in a certain deathtrap should the balance be disrupted. A small shiver racked her form due to the cold, and thoroughly soaked as she was Naruto knew she needed to find shelter and perhaps something more permanent. Walking through the rows of abandoned housing and buildings Naruto finally decided on the one that looked most structurally sound, yet the rotting wood would make walking up and down the stairs dangerous it was her best bet.

Inside, the first things Naruto noticed was the sheer amount of dust, some free floating motes of it were almost glowing silver in the sparse moonlight filtering through the windows. Sending quick glances to her left and right Naruto checked to make sure that she was alone before continuing, seeing no one else she crept further in seeking a place that she could hide in to get some sleep without being found. As she reached the middle of the room the floor beneath her gave a great groan, the creaky wood bending and buckling beneath her weight before finally collapsing.

With a yelp of fear Naruto turned and tried to cling to the edge of the new hole before falling in, managing to grasp it with one hand she hissed in pain as splinters dug into her hand. Looking down she noticed that the floor below her was quite deep; unnaturally so for a normal house and should she drop she might break a leg. While dangling Naruto bit her lip in indicision, she had broken a leg before jumping from a rooftop to avoid yet another mob, after the beating it had been healed in roughly two days. Looking back down Naruto decided to try and drag herself back up, she couldn't afford to be immobile for two days. However, as she began struggling to get back up her fragile hand-hold suddenly gave way with the creak of snapping wood. Her eyes quickly screwed shut in fear as she gave a shriek of fear before beginning to plummet only to feel her wrist gripped in a vice grip. Looking up in shock she saw a boy in his mid to late teens  
>holding her up, his dark brown eyes held concern and surprise as he gazed at the younger girl below him, his round face was all she could see and she noted that beneath the blue bandana he wore, some strands of brown hair could be seen framing the sides of his face.<p>

With a grunt of effort the mysterious boy dragged Naruto up and over the edge where she immediately scooted away from him and glanced him over, if he was a threat she knew she wouldn't be able to get far before he caught her. He wore a simple white shirt with blue edging on the sleeves, along with similarly colored cargo shorts that went down to his knees, the whole boy was covered in dirt stains and smudges. As he noticed Naruto's assessment he raised an eyebrow,

"So, what is a little boy like you doing here? These Red Light Slums aren't the safest of places to live you know. Won't your parents be worried?"

Naruto could feel her eye twitch at the "little boy" comment, "For starters, no, my parents will not be worried and the Orphanage matron kicked me out a few months ago so where else have I to go? And second, I am not a boy, I am a _girl_ got it? Sheesh, why is it that hard to tell?"

The boy's eyes widened as Naruto spoke, throwing his hands up in a placating manner he said, "Wait, wait, wait you mean you were kicked out? Why?"

She gave him a suspicious glare, "I dunno, something about 'contaminating the other pure children with my demon filth' whatever that means."

"Demon?"

"You think I know? I'm always called that, and chased by mobs of people trying to beat me. The second thing is kinda why I'm here."

"Yijo, call me Yijo" Naruto looked up in shock, but before she could say anything Yijo continued,

"If you are going to live here you need sombody to teach you, and you kinda remind me of my sister. She died a while ago, and well I'm an Acadamy drop out, I can teach you chakra so you can escape better and stuff." He trailed of lamely, bringing his hand up behind his head in a nervous gesture.

"Why?"

"…" Yijo was silent for a bit before answering, "Like I said, you remind me of my sister, and, well, orphans like us need to stick together. Survival is easier in groups, and even better in pairs, we can take care of eachother."

Naruto stared at Yijo for a long time, he even began to squirm and fidget for a bit before she finally let out a small smile, "I'd love to, and the name's Uzumaki Naruto! Though I prefer Naru."

Yijo just smiled at Naru before a small frown showed on his face, "What's wrong Yijo?"

"If you are going to live here it is safer for people to continue thinking you are a boy, trust me and don't ask. You are already good at hiding so you'd make a great pickpocket, nimble, small, and sneaky."

Dumbfounded, Naruto didn't have much else to say, so she just nodded vigorously.

"Okay then, guess I'll show you my hideout. There are some cool books with squiggles and neat pictures if you want to see them, they're supposed to be about seals but I can't make heads or tails about them."

Naruto bounced happily alongside her new friend, while she was secretly intrigued by these 'seals' Yijo had mentioned.

4 years later

Naruto had stuck to the books on seals like white on rice, they just made sense to her, Yijo often joked that maybe her parents knew seals; Naruto would just roll her eyes. Over the course of a year Yijo began teaching Naruto how to pickpocket, yet another art she took up easily with her natural aptitude at hiding in the shadows. It wasn't long till she could easily hide from the mobs that would always chase her; Yijo called it skill, Naruto called it instinct. Yijo had also taken the time to impart his way of thinking to Naruto albeit in a round-a-bout way.

"Who are you to decide what is and isn't fair in this world? All is relative to the person asking or telling. True fairness is non-existent someone always gets the short end of the stick and if you want fair go to a festival fair, they'll have fair and dango."

Naruto had also started the Academy, while excited at first Yijo had quickly stripped her of any and all delusions of excitement. His predictions turned out to be true and Naruto often found herself falling asleep between lack of drive due to teacher sabotage and late night studies of the books on fuuinjutsu Yijo had found and kept. The books themselves were fascinating and after Yijo had taught her to read Naruto was often found with her nose deep in the books in her free time. With them she was able to create exploding notes with the ink and paper she was able to buy with money she could pickpocket off civilians, and Yijo, after testing their quality as passable would sell them to shinobi supply stores for money invested in more supplies and the necessities, meaning food, water and clothing. On her ninth birthday Yijo had gotten Naruto a plain blue kimono, it was cheap and a few sizes too big but he was confident that she would grow into it eventually, and despite her needing to hide as a boy Yijo was determined to help her maintain her feminine side, he just told her to make sure it was well hidden.

Yijo had taken Naruto under his wing and treated her as family, it wasn't long before Naruto looked up to him as an older brother. Yet Yijo was extremely paranoid of discovery, after she had learned enough of seals he had saved up enough for two simple round ceramic disks with holes in the top for a string to be thread through, and he had Naruto turn them into hendge seals. Since the hendge was maintained by a seal it would remain unseen by bloodline users, when asked why there were two he had simply replied,

"Always have a backup, whether it is supplies, a plan, or an escape route."

And when Naruto had asked him what they were to look like Yijo had told them to make them look like her with short hair,

"When you grow older you'll look more like a girl, and besides using this will let you grow your hair out so you can take the pendant off and you have an instant disguise as you 'turn' into a girl. These pendants can keep you safe I want you to start wearing them all the time."

Nodding affirmative despite her confusion Naruto nevertheless did as her brother said. To complete the act Yijo had told her to craft a fake persona, having noted the aggressive attitude towards her he told her to lay low, pretend to be a dunce and make it believable. He knew if she acted like the quiet kid in back it would be suspicious, who would know what went through her mind if she acted like the quiet thoughtful person she truly was. Instead she took on the role of class clown, loud and brash with grades atrociously low, and as she acted she could tell her brother was right, everybody disregarded her as the class dobe, as such nobody thought to find where she lived, or who she lived with, she was ignored as the idiot.

As time passed however, Naruto saw that her brother began to cough often. Growing worried she tried to take care of him and often went to bed hungry having spent the usual funds they could earn on medicine, despite Yijo's protests. When she was eleven Yijo was confined to a bed, his health had taken a drastic turn for the worse, with each breath a rasping cough would rip through his thin frame, he refused to eat and still refused medicine and being taken to the hospital, insisting that Naruto use their money to buy food. On the day of the graduation exam Naruto stayed at the hideout turned home within the Red Light District, and stayed by her brother's side, and held his hand till he gave one last rattling gasp of air before falling silent, and asleep. After she had buried him Naruto shed a tear and with a whispered farewell she left his grave, headed by a simple stone graven with a simple message,

"Here lies Yijo, a mentor, a friend, a brother. Farewell and rest well Nii-san"

1 year later

It was another ordinary day, if one ignores the paint splattered all over the Hokage monument that was slowly being unveiled in the morning sun. Each of the Hokages past and present had blasphemous decals causing many of the shinobi who saw it to sputter in shock and rage, except for a certin copy cat ninja and a wizened old monkey, both of whom were gaining odd looks from their fellows for laughing at the sight.

Currently the one responsible was dressed in a neon kill-me orange jumpsuit and running from several shinobi intent on bringing justice to the perpetrator. Said perpetrator was laughing as he ran through the streets and quickly turned a corner to lose the angry ninja trailing him, he would have succeeded had it not been for the lone chunnin with a scar over his nose and brown hair spiked up in a hair-band to keep up while his hitate-ite shone proudly on his forehead. As the boy dressed in the offensively bright color fell down with a rough "oomph" the chunnin let out a victorious "Found you at last Naruto!"

Naruto quickly looked up into the face of his captor as he was quickly tied up with ropes and dragged to the Academy, all the while he whined "Iruka-sensei!"

Back at the Academy Naruto was untied and forced back to his seat, "Now, the Gennin Exams will be held tomorrow and as this baka" A quick glare in Naruto's direction "Has seen fit to act as he does we will have to study!"

Groans and complaints could be heard throughout the class and as each student lined up to perform the hendge technique Naruto decided to do it right, after all she did want to pass this year. As the quiz passed without incident Naruto noticed Iruka and Mizuki begin to eye her suspiciously, no doubt expecting a prank, well she'll just have to disappoint. Yet as Mizuki sat down and a water balloon filled with homemade itching powder and water was dropped onto his head Naruto thought, _Or not,_ with a guilty snicker. With the dismissal of the Academy she tried to 'sneak' out in an atrocious mockery of her true skills only to get caught by Iruka.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei? What'cha need?"

A small vein pulsed in his forehead, "You mean you don't remember this morning Naruto? You have some cleaning to do!"

With that he grabbed Naruto; who had tried to run, by the back of her collar and dragged her back to the Hokage Monument to clean up her artistic graffiti.

The graduation exam came the following day and yet despite Naruto's best efforts to answer the questions given she knew she failed the written test miserably. _Who the hell knows the battle strategy used during the second Shinobi War's battle of River-whatchamacallit? I don't even think Pinky could figure it out! What is it about me that gives people a reason to hate me?_

The accuracy and weapons test wasn't much better, when handed some weapons she could immediately tell that they were off balance and of poor quality, yet she tried to compensate for the pitfalls and managed to get a passable score much to her pleasure. It was the Ninjutsu test that failed her, she had once again failed to make a passable Bushin, much to the vindictive pleasure of the fan-girls who eagerly took it as an opportunity to mock her and say she could never be better than their "precious Sasuke-kun" Looking back to Iruka she could see warmpth pity in his eyes, something she didn't want, she knew that he cared, but he came into her life too late to help in the Academy. Hanging her head Naruto walked out of the building, and sat on a small squeaky swing, watching the other children proudly show their parents that they passed. The happy cries and brags of her classmates and the nasty whisperings aimed at her were each a wrentch of her heart, each a reminder that she didn't have a family and the family she had found was now gone. _Yijo-niisan, I tried soo hard. Nothing is fair you were right, but why must I _always_ get the short end of the stick? _

However as she stewed in her misery she noticed Mizuki walking up towards her, thinking he wanted to rub her failure into her face she steeled herself before turning around to face him only for him to say something she did not expect. "Naruto, I've noticed this is your third failure. Normally I wouldn't help a pranking menace like you but how about a peace offering? I help you pass and you don't prank me anymore? There is a make-up exam."

As Naruto let joy spread over her face she quickly nodded affirmative.

"Excellent, now all you have to do is…

Naruto was unsure, _Mizuki-sensei told me to steal a scroll and normally I find nothing wrong with stealing, but this is the _Hokage's _scroll. I had a few more questions for him but Mizuki-sensei left before I could ask him, what time do I start?_

Deciding that since it was the Hokage's scroll being used for the exam she decided to ask him, if she could get in that is. Walking up to Hokage Tower she tried to gain an audience with the Hokage but his secretary began screeching of assassination attempts. Worriedly glancing around Naruto tried to tell the pink haired woman _Probably Sakura's mom_ that she just had some questions to ask Hokage-sama but the woman's screeching just reached even more intolerable levels.

"Oi! Lady, I am not trying to kill anybody I just want to talk to Hokage-sama about something my Academy sensei said."

Her sneer could have curdled milk, "Sure you little demon, and why would I believe that when you have already killed-"

"Enough, I shall see Naruto-kun now, let him through."

Turning around in shock the secretary saw the Sadaime himself glaring daggers at her and leaking a minute amount of killer-intent to keep her quiet. After he looked away from the now trembling secretary the Hokage locked eyes with Naruto, who was shocked to see a warmth in his eyes that she had only seen in Yijo's eyes. It was a look of caring, one that she had missed dearly after her pseudo brother's death. "Come on Naruto-kun, let's step into my office."

Vigorously nodding her head Naruto obliged, sticking her tongue out at the secretary in a mix of maintaining her mask and getting the last laugh. Sarutobi had seen the action out of the corner of his eye and let out a small chuckle before closing the door and dismissing all but one ANBU who remained in the shadows, his dog mask flashing before the Hokage to let him know where he was hidden before removing himself from sight once more, all of this went unnoticed by Naruto who was still shocked that the Hokage would actually come and get her himself.

"Now Naru-chan, care to explain some things? I do appreciate the visit though; it is a nice break from the usual."

Naruto felt her insides run ice cold at being discovered, before remembering that the one who found her out _was_ the Hokage for a reason. Sheepishly rubbing her hand behind her head -a habit she had picked up from Yijo- she said "Maa, I guess I might as well spill all, but please don't tell anyone unless necessary Hokage-sama."

The older man just gave her a smile, "Of course Naru-chan, you obviously have a reason."

Naruto felt relief flood through her, "Well, when I was six I was kicked out of the orphanage and after a few months I kind of stumbled into a place and met Yijo-niisan." She frowned, "Well, more like he found me, anyway he told me that he would help me learn how to survive on the streets and we kind of just began living together he taught me things and I helped him make some exploding seals to sell for money-"

Sarutobi cut her off with a wave of his hand, "Wait, you make exploding seals? Do they work? And how did you learn?"

Here Naruto's eyes lit up, she truly loved seals but had already learned all she could from the beginner books Yijo had given her, "Oh, those are easy! The seals are so beautiful and the structure is fun to learn, did you know that-"

As if sensing the impending speech filled with affectionate intricacies Sadaime reminded Naruto of his questions, causing an embarrassed smile and small blush to spread across her face, "Sorry, Yijo-niisan always said I get too involved in seal-speak. Anyway when I met him Yijo gave me some introductory seal books to use to learn to read and use as picture books as he had found them in a garbage can and since they looked interesting and full books are a rare find he kept them. After that I learned all I could from them and tried to find more in the library but there weren't any more books there." She pouted.

Sarutobi was in mild shock, _Defiantly your daughter Minato._

"As for making the exploding notes, well the paper and ink weren't always the best of quality as recommended by the books but I made due and made sure to draw the seals as best I could to make up for the other shortcomings. Making the exploding notes were easy, my true masterpieces so far was this one!"

With that exclamation she took a small ceramic pendant with a black string from a sealing scroll in her pocket, ignoring the shocked look of the Hokage in front of her at her sealing scroll she proudly displayed her pendant, specifically the seal on it to him.

"I figure that it'll be safe to tell you this since you can use them if you want and you're the only person interested in seals besides myself so far! This is my Hendge Seal Pendant! Yijo-niisan always thought it best to not only dress as a boy but also keep a hendge of a boy on as well, a back-up plan if you will. But we knew the Hyuugas would be able to see through it if it was maintained by a constant flow of chakra from the body so instead I came up with this."

She handed her spare pendant to the Hokage who gaze upon it with interest, "It took me _months_ but I managed to create this seal here" She pointed at an outer seal "To store chakra sent to it by the user, it can only store enough to maintain the hendge for about three days before needing to be charged again and this seal" she pointed to another seal on the pendant "Uses the stored chakra form the other seal to cast a hendge on the user, all you have to do o activate it is to perform a hedge with the image in mind while sending enough chakra to charge the first seal and the image gets imprinted onto the second seal. After that you take the pendant off, dispel the hendge and then put it back on and you get a smokeless transformation instantaneously and for the next three days! And it can't be dispelled as the chakra is directly linked and can't be interrupted."

By the time her pride filled speech was over the Saidame's pipe had long since dropped from his mouth as he gazed at the pendant, after regaining his composure he handed back the pendant, "Would you care to show me how it works?"

"Of course!" she paused and then quickly remembered her manners, "Hokage-sama"

Sarutobi just chuckled, "No need to be so formal Naru-chan."

With a wicked grin Naruto nodded before pulling her own pendent off, the effect was seen as soon as the string was no longer around her neck. Her lashes became thicker, nose slightly smaller, face more heart shaped and her hair grew about an inch all over, she also seemed a bit slimmer but it was hard to tell through the jumpsuit, her height remained the same.

"I figured I'd keep my height and size mostly the same that way if the pendent breaks or I decide to not hide anymore I won't have to re-train myself. If I have to put up with being called short then so be it."

Sarutobi and the ANBU were both shocked and pleased by her foresight in that regard and both were internally drooling at the prospects and possibilities of the Hendge Pendants.

"Well, that certainly is impressive although I want you to keep those pendants to yourself for now; can I have the spare though? I would love to study it."

In shock that _The Professor_ wanted to study one of _her_ works Naruto just numbly tossed him the spare, she could always make another.

"Now, care to tell me why you originally came here?"

"Oh sure, I was just wondering when I start my Make-up Gennin Exam that Mizuki-sensei told me about."

The room temperature dropped a few degrees but Naruto; who was putting her pendant back on didn't notice, "He said that I had to 'steal' a really big scroll called Forbidden Scroll or something like that and meet him in the forest and I wanted to know if you knew what time I should start since you obviously helped with setting up the exam since it is your scroll after all. And he said that he wanted me to learn a technique and I wanted your recommendation for which one I should learn. "

By the time she finished Sarutobi was in shock, by the way she was rambling this treasonous act he knew she was innocent and was most likely being used by her sensei, something that did not sit well with the aged Hokage. The ANBU was already gritting his teeth angrily while trying to keep himself from going after the scum that would use kids under his assigned care to further his own ends. Sarutobi himself was about to tell Naruto that her sensei was using her to commit treason before he stopped himself, he had an idea to help Naruto behind the Council's backs, give her some of her rightful inheritance and catch that traitor all in one.

"Naru-chan, you have to start the make-up at eleven tonight. But if you don't mind me asking why did you fail? With your skill in seals one would expect you to pass easily."

Sarutobi could feel the questioning gaze of the ANBU on him as he gave Naruto a time but he ignored it, intent on Naruto's answer, "Well, I tried my hardest on the written exam but it was asking about what battle strategies were used during the First and Second Shinobi Wars, that and it was asking me what was the name of the Second Kazekage and other stuff Iruka-sensei never even went over, I didn't know I had to know that stuff. And my weapons were off balance I think, but nobody said that they were any different; I know I would have passed Ninjutsu if it wasn't for the stupid bushin. I just can't make that stupid clone for all the ramen in the world! I practiced as often as I could and did my chakra control exercises as much as I could between making seals for money and studying but it just won't work."

"Hmm, I have a jutsu for you to learn then, I'll have it written down in this scroll." He held up a large blank scroll. "I'll write the instruction in here for you and you must steal this one, I'll also put some sealing books into a storage seal below the jutsu for you to use but I must ask you to keep what you learn secret. Think of it a secret for a secret, deal?"

"Hai!"

"Alight, run along now and I'll see you, or not later tonight."

Naruto's face was filled with joy that someone would actually help her as much as he had, running up she gave him a quick hug, "Thanks jiji."

Sarutobi froze with shock before returning the hug with a soft chuckle, "Jiji huh? I don't mind."

After Naruto left the room Sarutobi signaled to the hidden ANBU and Inu quickly dropped into the room, "Inu, I want you to arrive to apprehend the traitor that is Mizuki. And should he attack Naru-chan interfere only when absolutely necessary or when he is knocked out to bring him into custody."

The dog-masked ANBU nodded before vanishing out through the window.

Looking at the portrait of the Yondaime behind him Sarutobi could only hope all went as planned. _Stay safe Naru-chan._

Naruto could be found running through the forest at night with a large scroll tied to her back, the same one Sarutobi had shown her earlier that day. As she approached the meeting place Mizuki-sensei had mentioned earlier she settled down and began to open the scroll. Upon unraveling it she saw _Kage Bushin no Jutsu_ printed in neat handwriting up top, _Figures Jiji would give me a bushin to do, guess he thought if I couldn't learn one I might be able to learn another. But Shadow clones? Might be easier and I always hide in shadows._

After an hour's worth of effort she finally managed to complete the jutsu, while mentally jumping for joy at having accomplished the bushin at long last she decided to take a peek at the sealing books. Biting her finger and spreading the small amount of blood over the seal she saw about four thick books pop out of the smoke along with a small scroll addressed to her from the Hokage, deciding to read the scroll first she sealed the books into her own personal storage seal tattooed into a bracelet-like position on her wrist that she usually covered with her jacket she opened the scroll and began to read,

_Near Naruto,_

_ I am sorry if you feel used but this was the only way to get to you your father's notes on seals, he was the one who wrote the information but as he was notorious for his illegible handwriting I transcribed them for you…_

Here she paused and felt her eye twitch in slight irritation, just _knowing_ that Yijo was laughing his ass off wherever he was. _Damn, he was right, like always._

_The books go all the way to master's level and I think you will enjoy them. But I first must tell you the Mizuki is using you to steal the Forbidden Scroll that holds village secrets such as __kinjutsus(sp?)__ that are extremely dangerous for you to use. An ANBU should be arriving to help if absolutely necessary but I would prefer if you could try to handle it yourself. _

Mizuki was a traitor? Naruto was surprised to find that she truly didn't care, she never really liked that jerk and if Mizuki-teme thought she could just be used and tossed aside then she'd show him a thing or two, _or more than two_ she thought with an evil grin reminiscent of a certain purple haired sadistic snake mistress.

_And finally I wish to tell you why everyone hates you so much, after all you have earned and deserve the right to know. _

Now it was getting interesting

_The reason is that you are the vessel for the nine-tailed fox, the Kyuubi. Wait before panicking._

At this Naruto snorted, _After telling me that he tells me _not_ to panic?_

_The Kyuubi cannot be killed, so the Fourth sealed it into a baby, and as the only baby born on the day of the demon's assault you were unfortunately chosen. After the sealing he wanted you to be seen as a hero, you only contain the beast like a kunai is contained in a sealing scroll…but his wish was ignored and the Council wanted to turn you into an emotionless killer or have you executed. I wanted to take care of you but I had no choice, I gave up any rights to help you and none of the other shinobi could help or interfere with your life up until you became a gennin to prevent the Council from doing the same. I know a simple 'I'm sorry' can never cover what you had to go through but I hope we can get to know each other, I wish to get to know you and before you think to ask, yes I knew of your father and mother but I cannot tell you their names or ranks for security reasons, but they both loved you dearly and it is unfortunate that they died in the Kyuubi attack, I hope you understand._

_Good luck Naruto,_

_Jiji,_

By the end of the letter Naruto had tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She now knew why she was hated, and it wasn't her fault. She didn't hate the Fourth, he most likely didn't have a choice but to use her but she certainly wasn't going to sing praises of him while skipping through the street, she mostly felt apathetic, deciding that like Yijo had taught her nothing is fair and that everything is grey, from the Fourth's point of view he figured that one life to sacrifice for the survival of the many was a necessary evil, and from his last words he had tried to make it up to her. Heaving a sigh Naruto's thoughts turned to the topic of her parents, she could finally ask someone about them and get to know them somewhat, which was better than nothing, _They were probably ANBU._

It was at this point that she heard a twig snap, looking up to see Mizuki walking towards her she quickly took the message scroll and put it in her pocket while rolling up the larger- now known as a decoy- scroll and pushed it behind her, "Ne Sensei? You came early! I haven't finished yet!"

Mizuki just snarled at her before unlatching a giant shruikin from his back, "Shut up demon, you think I care? You got the Forbidden Scroll for me and now we are alone, where I can kill you and take the scroll for myself!"

Now his eyes gained a strange glint, "But first do you want to know why this village hates you? Do you want to know why you will never be accepted? It's because you are-"

Having enough of the traitor's rant and still furious at him for using her she cut him off, "Yadda, yadda, yadda, sorry but I already know teme, and guess what?"

Not giving him a chance to respond Naruto quickly brought her hands up into the cross seal, "Taiju Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

As the clearing was filled with orange-clad Narutos she continued "You are a bastard and I am going to beat you so hard the itching powder will seem much more pleasurable."

With that she sent all her bushin to attack the man while she herself grabbed the scroll and dashed to hide in the shadows, using her full skills she quickly tried to get away knowing that even with her new jutsu Mizuki wasn't a chunnin for nothing.

As Mizuki dispelled the last of her bushin he gave chase, having glimpsed the direction she had headed towards, but he was quickly getting out of breath, barely managing to follow his target and being guided by small flashes of orange through the forest always just out of range.

Naruto had a plan to exhaust Mizuki-teme before fighting him with more bushin, she could have just spammed the jutsu but that would waste her chakra, it would be easier to lead him on a wild goose chase, and the get him while he was too exhausted from chasing her to do much. Letting another small patch of her orange jumpsuit show Naruto decided that it was time to act when she heard him gasping for breath, creating another batch of fifty shadow clones she sent them to first throw weapons at Mizuki from various angles, straining his stamina even more before jumping into the fray.

Standing and smiling victoriously over a beaten, bloodied and unconscious Mizuki Naruto saw a dog-masked ANBU with gravity defying silver-grey hair tilted off to an angle. Her eyes widening in shock Naruto recognized that hair, "Well done Naruto, I see you handled the traitor quite well considering your skills."

Still staring at the hair Naruto ignored what the man had said earlier, "It's you!" she blurted out.

The ANBU tilted his head slightly, "What do you mean? I don't think we have met before."

Naruto shook her head, "When I was running from another mob about six years ago I ran into a guy with your same hair -it ain't exactly normal- and he helped me get away."

Now it was the ANBU's turn to stare at her oddly, "You remember?"

Naruto just nodded, "Well, I guess I don't have to tell you to keep this secret ne? This is my last ANBU mission before I go back to being a Jounin and I would like it if you kept this to yourself."

Giving a small smile Naruto nodded, "You can count on me Inu-san!"

Inu just chuckled before tossing Naruto a forehead protector, "Well, after what just happened I believe you have enough skill to be a gennin. Congratulations Naruto. Ja ne."

With that said Inu grabbed the unconscious Mizuki and disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving Naruto to proudly tie the hitate-ite to her forehead.


	2. cinderella

Angel- sorry for taking ssooooo long to update but high school finals and a trip out of state kinda make it hard.

Nacturn- ya sorry for the wait TT-TT... but we're back now to cont. the story! Naruto, Sasuke please do the honors.

Sasuke&Naruto- These two don't own Naruto or anything.

_'thought'_

"talking"

**ENJOY!**

* * *

><p>Ch.2 Cinderella<p>

The sounds of celebration and mirth echoed through the streets of the near abandoned Red Light district as Naruto pulled a dusty old blue kimono from under a loose floorboard in her room. While gazing at the feminine outfit Naruto gently fingered the cold ceramic pendant with seals inscribed into the material, slowly hardening his grip on the object Naruto yanked it up and over his head and as soon as the pendent no longer touching skin Naruto quickly changed, his figure becoming thinner, more feminine and soon a young girl was sitting where Naruto once stood. Sighing in relief Naruto got ready to go to the festival in her true form and her first birthday as a ninja. She grabbed her light blue kimono, marveling over the smooth silky feel of the fabric over her skin before applying make-up with the glassy reflection of a shard of a broken bottle, taking extra care to make sure her whisker birthmarks were covered before heading out to join in the festival that was always denied to her in the past.

."Sugoi…" she said walking down the road staring with wide eyes as the numerous colorful stalls and games with various prizes. So distracted by the sights she was not paying attention and bumped into someone. "Sorry I was not paying attention." She looked up and saw one Sasuke Uchiha, the dark haired avenger was brooding as usual, and his trademark scowl adorned his pale face as he picked himself up off the ground since Naruto had knocked him down.

"Hnn" Again the dark haired avenger used his conversational cop-out, before continuing on his way, yet as he was a few feet behind Naruto she decided to try and get through his thick skull.

"You know, that right there is why you have so many irksome fangirls." The blond replied with a tone that held hints of teasing.

Sasuke froze; this random girl knew why he had so many damnible _things_ chasing him? Whirling around so fast Naruto thought he might get whiplash he gazed hard at her, as if trying to decide what to ask her before settling on a commanding "Explain."

A small smile spread across her face, while her eyes twinkled with a slight glimmer of mischief. "And why? Oh rude one must I comply to your demands like the other girls who gladly sell out the respect of our gender for your attention? I like to think of myself as having more dignity than they."

Again Sasuke was shocked though it did not show; he looked into her deep azure eyes, noting the shadows flirting about, the pain, sorrow and determination he saw within his own onyx eyes. '_Just who is she? I can see that she has experienced loss, yet how much? Those beautiful-'_ he cut himself off right there, where did that come from?

While Sasuke was contemplating the blond enigma's past her grin grew before she continued, "But perhaps I find pity in your condition" Ah, there was the infamous Uchiha glare, "Girls like guys such as yourself because of your withdrawn nature, they wish to save you from the darkness of your past. Ideological idiots if I must say so myself, forgetting the past would only lead to more pain."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, just who was this blond haired girl? Looking closer he noted that she wore a simple blue kimono, patternless and plain, yet in its simplicity it seemed to suit the girl, fitting her curves and showcasing her decent C-cup. Her long blond hair, similar to that of a dobe of a teammate he had, seemed to glow with a golden radiance in the artificial light of the festival, the spiky bangs gently framing her face while most of it was pulled back in a simple braid. Looking to her face, Sasuke idly noted that she was just an inch shorter than he was, and her round, cute face, and deep soulful eyes-'_What the heck? Am I, checking her out! No!'_

"The past is painful, why would forgetting it only lead to more pain?" He had to admit, she intrigued him and her philosophies directly contrasted his own, sometimes he wished he could forget the horrors of the Massacre, to forget his Brother's betrayal, forget the openly glazed eyes of his parents. He quickly stomped out those memories, pulling his attention back to the blond who was beginning to answer.

"Our past defines us, but should not dictate us, the past makes us who we are, our experiences, our pain, our loss. Each defines and creates aspects of ourselves that even we do not yet know, to be without a past is to be without a purpose, and an identity. Should you forget who you were, then would you not forget who you are?"

It made sense, in an oddly paradoxical way, deciding to counter Sasuke didn't even realize that he was enjoying this conversation, "What if we do not like that which we have become? What if the darkness we endured in turn makes us dark?"

Her grin died down to a small sad smile, the one Sasuke often saw accompanied by looks of pity and sympathy, yet the blonde's smile spoke that which she could not truly put into words. In it, Sasuke saw empathy, "Sometimes the darkness we hold is not of our choosing, it may describe us but it doesn't define us. And Darkness sometimes creates a better shield than blade."

So confused by her words Sasuke almost missed her waiting for his rebuttal, "But how can darkness, synonymous with evil and hate protect?" That which she was implying went against what his brother had said.

"The world is not Black and White; it is in shades of grey, the villain thinks himself a hero, while the hero may think himself a villain. One can argue both sides and never know the truth; all is a matter of perspective." Here her eyes gained a curious glint, "I was told your story, and I must wonder, if it was your brother who is the enemy, in the other shade of grey then why do you take his words at face value? Why do you accept his opinions without a grain of salt? You are merely looking through a tunnel, rather than keep an open mind you see what he wishes you to see by following his last words to you with such devotion as you do. Are you Itachi's brother? Or are you Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say; with a few choice words this stranger had thrown his entire world up to this point into disarray. He did not know what to think and so lost in his confusion he let three words slip, "I don't know."

Though the words were but a whisper Naruto heard them, "Then let me show you Sasuke,"

With that she grabbed the still confused boy and dragged him into the festival. The first start was the venders. They look around to see everything. After that they played some games and ate dango, Naruto thinking that her requesting ramen might give her away. Sasuke reluctantly realized that he was having fun for first time since the death of his clan. After several stalls of easy games Sasuke began to stare at the girl beside him, she seemed to unconsciously be avoiding people, nervously avoiding eye contact and keeping her head down. In a way her hesitance seemed odd, Sasuke had seen a fierce determination and fire in her when she turned his world upside down, and though he would never admit it even upon threat of torture, he began to worry for her, '_Why is one so strong so afraid of others?'_ Deciding to ask later Sasuke gave a small smile, a seeming twitch of the corners of his lips to others but it was a smile to him as he saw a Lilly flower the same color as her deep cerulean eyes. After a moment's contemplation he quickly darted from his new acquaintance's side, paid for the flower and returned to her, sneaking up behind her before tapping her on the shoulder and presenting her the flower after she jumped and spun around with a speed that he absently noted didn't belong to a civilian. After staring at the flower she looked up with a curious expression, "Thanks, I guess for not being annoying, and for…well," Sasuke wasn't quite sure what to call their philosophic discussion, a wake-up call? She seemed to get what he was referring to as she accepted the delicate flower with a small smile, not the annoyingly wide and fake smile of his dobe teammate, or the sickly sweet fangirl smile of his other teammate, but a soft, true smile of acknowledging the small pleasures of life. Staring up into his eyes Sasuke's companion gave a soft whispered thanks and enveloped him in a quick, loose hug. As he felt the warm arm wrap around him and the golden hair tickle his chin Sasuke froze, his body stiffening at the contact before deciding that he liked it, it wasn't the vice grip of a clingy fangirl but as he was about to return it she let go with a slight blush, staring at her Sasuke gave another small smile before suggesting another stall to visit.

~20 min. later~

Staring up at the fireworks Sasuke was in a state of bliss, this girl he had met had shed a light he didn't know existed upon his life, yet as a thought struck him his blood ran cold, how had she known? What horrors had she gone through to give her such an understanding of himself? "How?"

"Hmm?" Was the questioning reply he got from the girl beside him.

"How do you know me so well? What have you gone through to have such a view on the world?" He said, staring up at the fireworks as he waited for her reply, but when he got it the words were fleeting and quiet as if she were fading away.

"Because like you I have darkness, but you have painful memories while I am cursed"

Eyes widening with shock he looked over to where she was sitting beside him only to see the small orange lily he had picked from one of the stalls for her, resting innocently beside him as if it were not the one thing he had to know that she were not simply a figment of his imagination. Sadly picking up the delicate flower he had only one thought, '_Curse_?'

It was not five minutes later that he realized that he had not even gotten her name, he had spent an entire evening with a girl he did not know, a girl he _liked_ and . . It was seconds later that a loud and frustrated "DAMNIT!" ran throughout the village, shocking several of the villagers and making them wonder what was the cause of such an outburst while mothers "Tisked" at the foul language.


	3. Demons VS Demon

Ch. 3 Demons Vs Demon

~Naruto P.O.V~

I woke up the next day and was going through my usual mornings.

"That was a lot of fun last night." I said aloud. '_I wonder if Sasuke-WAIT?! Am I thinking about him! I guess. Well last night he was almost human. Hell must have frozen over , I guess I like him,. Wow, might not want to say that out loud.'_ With this thought in my mind, I got ready for the day. I grabbed my cloths, a towel, headband, and a pendent and headed for the bath room.

~Hokage's Office; regular p.o.v.~

An old man in red and white robes sat at a desk in front of Naruto and her team.

"Kakashi, do you think they are ready for a C-rank mission?" the old man asked. A man with gravity defying silver hair stepped up.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." he replied with an eye smile. Team seven was brimming with joy, or at least in their own way. Sasuke smirked, Sakura giggled, and Naruto was trying not to shout.

"Your mission is, protect Tanuza, the bridge builder back to Wave and stay until the bridge is done… Come in, Tanuza." As the Hokage said that a man with glasses, a small beard, and holding a bottle of alcohol walked in.

"These are the ninja you're sending with me?! A broody emo, a blonde baby, and a pink freak!" the man stated. Team seven turned and smiled at their client.

'_They're pissed_.' Kakashi and the hokage thought.

"Let's met at the front gate in three hours and try to calm down." Kakashi said and disappeared. The rest of team seven left to pack.

~3 hours later~

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walked to the gate to see Kakashi waiting for them. They were shocked. They started yelling 'kai' thinking it was a genjutsu. Kakashi sweatdropped thinking, '_Maybe I am late too often… ah will they can just wait.'_

"Well now let's get this mission started." Kakashi stated as they started on their mission.

After several hours of walking, and some pointless chatter of Sakura's Naruto noticed that there was a puddle in the middle of the road. Deciding that such an anomaly of nature was a poorly disguised trap due to the weather the past several days Naruto cleverly deduced that it was a genjutsu, she was about to mention it to her team when she saw Kakashi's eye dart to their direction and then back to the puddle. Mentally locking her mouth, Naruto knew her idiot mask would never have been able to tell that the puddle was fake. So she had to pretend to be oblivious, well that was the easy part. As they passed the puddle two men jumped out, wielding clawed gauntlets, a lethal looking chain and oddly enough gas masks. As the two missing-nin leapt into action, cutting her sensei into gory chunks Naruto quickly jumped out of the way, leaving a clone in her place during the confusion caused with Kakashi's 'death' . It was a good thing she did as the now recognized Demon Brothers choose her as their next target, yet as she was about to throw a kunai into their chain to immobilize it the dark haired avenger beat her to the punch, defending her clone.

Naruto could feel a twitch in her eyebrow, '_Copy-cat' _she though, never mind that she hadn't done such an action yet, as she had thought of it first.

Deciding to join in Naruto launched herself at the demon brother closest to her position, and although the man ducked to avoid her lunge she was counting on such a reaction. As she sailed over the man, she lashed downward with a kunai in each hand, causing two bloody grooves to erupt across his back. They weren't too deep as he had worn armor, but as the cuts were deep enough to be extremely painful. Landing in a roll, Naruto jumped back up and turned around to face her adversary, who was busy cursing up a storm. Lunging at him again Naruto quickly engaged him in taijutsu, it seemed that the demon brothers were much more suited to working together, because Naruto could clearly see several openings in his defenses but they were all on one side as the other was an impenetrable wall. However, Naruto knew that fate was not kind to circumstance and lashed out at any opening available to her. With a hard kick to the head Naruto managed to down her opponent before she looked back to her team, seeing the other demon brother had shouted in shock at his brother's failure before he lashed out at the weakest member of the team, Sakura.

Thinking quickly Naruto quickly Kawarimi-ed with her pink haired teammate and threw her arms up in defense, and it was a good thing she did. With Sakura's current stance, she would have caught the clawed gauntlet across the face, and most likely have lost an eye. Yet with Naruto who had her arms raised to protect such a vital area she caught the claw on her left forearm. She hissed with pain as it tore a jagged but thankfully shallow line across her arm, yet as Kakashi appeared and dealt with the missing-nin Naruto was already applying first-aid to her wound. The slight lightheadedness she felt was an indicator of poison, and she didn't know if those claws were rusty, a poison in itself. Quickly pulling out her canteen she washed the wound before letting it bleed out and then washed it again before bandaging the wound and readjusting her sleeve, frowning at the work she was going to need to repair her jacket.

Finally noticing the silence she looked back to her team, who were all staring at her in various states of shock, tilting her head to the side she spoke up, "What?"

"Are you ok?" asked Kakashi with concern. Naruto looked at her sensei and smiled.

"Yes, I'm ok. Just a scratch." She replied then left to sit under a tree, while Kakashi talks to Tanuza about lying about the mission. After a heart wrenched story they all agreed to continue the mission.

After the got on the bout they were silent. Naru just stared at the water with a soft smile, Sakura Was staring at Sasuke like always, but Sasuke was looking at Naru. _'I think he's hiding something. By the looks of it he was in no pain. Why and what is he hiding.' _He thought continuing to stare at Naru's back.

Kakashi was reading his orange book and glanced over his team. He knew what she was hiding and did his best to keep it that way. _'Sakura is too into Sasuke to even really try to see what Naru-chan is hiding, but Sasuke looks like he is going to try and find it.'_ he thought as the bout hit land they got off. The fog was thick and laced with chakra that put Naru and Kakashi on guard for any movement.

A noise came from a bush and Naru throw it at the sound, only to find she almost killed a bunny. _'Wait, its white, must be a pet… Oh no, it's a trap!'_ She thought and turned to her team and yelled, "Get Down!" and pushed sakura to the ground. Sasuke went to the ground and Kakashi pushed Tanuza to the ground as a giant sword came out and hit the tree. Kakashi was first up and saw how they were facing.

"Momochi Zabuza…" Kakashi whispered, hoping for his team and him to survive.

~~End~~


	4. Swords and Broken Masks

_**Swords and Broken Masks**_

*Normal P.O.V.*

Looking up from the ground Naruto quickly spat out the few grains of dirt that made their way into her mouth when she dove to the ground. Looking up while still having Sakura pushed underneath her, Naruto saw Kakashi-sensei staring down a man dressed in monochrome camouflage pants, his chest bared to the world except for the sword harness and the lower half of his face masked in bandages. Naruto idly noted that his kirigakure hitat-ite was somewhat diagonal on his forehead. Getting to her feet Naruto quickly drew a kunai and held it at the ready while her pink-haired teammate got up and quickly dusted herself off before grabbing her weapon, as she noticed the self cleaning action Naruto rolled her eyes before looking to see how the client and Sasuke had faired. Naruto knew they weren't dead, the attacker's sword didn't have blood on it but she still heaved a sigh of relief at seeing the others unharmed; if a little dirty from their meeting with the ground.

"Well, what have we here? Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy Cat Ninja and three little brats pretending to be ninja." The man's deep baritone rang out through the still air as a slight mist came rolling in near the feet of the opposing forces. Naruto inspected the man closer, his appearance ringing a bell in the back of her mind; she had seen him somewhere before but not in person.

"Hand over the old man Kakashi, and we can part ways unharmed."

Naruto gave a mental _Ah-HA!_ As she worked out where she had seen this man before, he was in her Bingo Book that she had pilfered from some ninja's trash can a few years ago. '_So we are fighting Momochi Zabuza, damn.__'_

"I'm afraid I can't Momochi, he is our client and it is our mission to protect him." Kakashi sounded confident but by the slight shifting of his leg backwards and the unveiling of his Sharringan so early in the fight, Naruto knew he was worried about them, after all they were only gennin.

Zabuza seemed to frown behind his bandages, "Very well, this shall be an interesting fight, I feel honored that you would bring out the sharringan so early."

Beside her, Naruto could feel Sasuke stiffen upon noticing the sharringan their teacher wielded, "You can ask him later, we need to concentrate on the now."

Looking over to Naruto in shock once he heard her whisper Sasuke's face flashed incredulity before returning to its neutral mask '_Kuso, I can't act stupid in a situation like this! I'll have to deal with the suspicion after maybe I can call it off as adrenaline or something.__'_The three gennin entered a triangular position around Tanuza while Kakashi pulled out a kunai and Zabuza got down from his position atop his sword, wrenched it from the tree it was embedded in and formed a few handseals with a deliberate slowness as if taunting the team. As the mist rolled in faster and thicker and a sadistic sounding **"Kiri no Jutsu"** was called out Naruto understood that the missing-nin was indeed taunting her team. Soon the mist was so thick that all Naruto could see was a thick pale white blue, the faint silhouettes of the Client and her teammates being the only indicators that she wasn't alone in the deep silence. As the quiet and tension permeated the air Naruto began to unconsciously even out and slow her breathing, years of experience and learning the necessity of being quiet in a quiet environment or in the presence of an unknown threat making the reaction almost instinctual.

A dark laugh, to deep to be a chuckle echoed in the mist, seeming to come from multiple places at once, and despite straining her ears Naruto could not pinpoint the source

"There are eight points…" The deep voice of Zabuza seemed to circle them.

"Throat, Spinal column, lungs, liver," his voice echoing in one ear before jumping to another.

"The jugular vein, the sub-clavier artery, kidney, heart" With each listing of a vulnerable point, one that each gennin knew would result in a fatal hit, the tension grew to an almost choking atmosphere.

"So many choices, what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?" The voice trailed off into a laugh, chilling the spines of the listeners as none could detect any madness in it, he was _sane_ as he listed the ways to kill.

A shadow holding a massive sword appeared in front of the blurry shape that was Kakashi, and as she strained her eyes Naruto could see her sensei holding off the head-cleaver with a simple kunai, yet was slowly being pushed back. But Naruto heard the slight sound of gravel being shifted behind her, causing her to twirl around and hold a kunai up against the blade of another Zabuza that appeared behind her, appearing from the mist like a wraith had it not been for the slight sound that alerted her to the presence. As she held off the blade Naruto's arm began to shake with the force being exerted against her, she had blocked the blade with the flat end of the kunai rather than the blade so that she could save the edge and prevent damage, and so she could bring her other hand up and press the palm against the flat end facing her should she need to, and she did. The edges of her kunai dug into her palm, drawing blood but she ignored the pain as she brought her hand up to use both arms to hold off the assault Naruto saw Zabuza raise a non-existent eyebrow before Sasuke brought a kunai of his own across his back, causing water to bleed out of the wound and the mizu bushin to fall to the ground with a splash to the Uchiha's confusion.

"It seems you have a brat that knows how to survive Hatake."

Lashing out at the throat of Zabuza as those words were spoken Kakashi was rewarded with the splash of a mizu bushin's death, "And what makes you say that Momochi?"

Another Zabuza launched himself from the mist, tendrils of a pearly blue-white swirling around his form, "The blond gaki didn't go edge to edge, thought ahead and is so far the only brat I've met that can withstand the killer intent we are emitting."

Kakashi was cleaved in half, bleeding water as he collapsed into a puddle as a mizu bushin, causing Zabuza's eyes to narrow at the thought of his jutsu being copied. Another Kakashi then jumped in to return the favor only to be rewarded with yet another water clone.

"I would say that you did well training the brat, but I know different. A street rat always can recognize another. It's a shame that we aren't on the same side, the gaki is a natural at surviving."

The deadly turns of water clones killing water clones finally came to an end as the two combatants clashed again, each blade slightly cutting onto the fingers of the other and sending thrills of adrenaline as blood was drawn."Then why fight? Why not join Konoha?"

"It is all I know, I've been surviving since my dear mother had me in a ditch. The streets taught me to survive and it is all I know, never give up or you face an agonizing death. As for joining Konoha? Don't make me laugh, would they really want a 'Demon of the Mist'? I've heard rumors of the village's hatred for another one they call 'demon' why would I be any different?"

Kakashi had to suppress a flash of guilt at the mention of Naruto's treatment. The two advisories fell into silence as they continued to parry and strike, each clash slowly turning Kakashi's kunai into a mangled, and serrated mockery of the weapon it once was, as he continued to meet the edge of Zabuza's kubikiri with his own.

Naruto could feel the killer intent leaking from her sensei and Zabuza, the sickly oppression pressed against her mind and tightened against her throat yet she stood tall and alert, she knew worse and had endured worse, this would not break her. The same could not be said about her teammates however. Looking over she saw Sasuke trembling as his eyes darted around, trying to use them to detect a threat. Yet Sakura seemed to be affected the worst of all, her hands were shaking so her she nearly dropped her kunai and her breathing was erratic and frantic, the whites of her eyes clearly visible as she gazed into the mist. Deciding to help Naruto slowly and gently put a hand on both her teammates, letting them know it was her and not a threat.

"Calm down, Kakashi-sensei will do his best, he won't abandon us and we won't die." As the steady words reached her teammates Naruto noticed that Sasuke's trembling stilled and Sakura's shaking lessened, it was still there but she could grip her kunai firmer. Flashing them both a large, shit-eating grin Naruto removed her hands and focused back on the shadowy fight between her sensei and Zabuza in time to see one shadow kick another into the water nearby before jumping after it. The fight had been a bit morbid, having seen both shadows kill each other in various gruesome ways, and despite being mizu bushin the silhouettes left little to imagination.

Hearing a victorious shout the three gennin's attention was captured by the location the shout had come from as the mist began to lighten up, clearly there was victor yet who the victor was had yet to be seen. Once the mist cleared enough Naruto could see Kakashi held within an orb of water, Zabuza holding his hand in it to keep it together with what she was sure to be a victorious smirk beneath his bandages. Seeing that his gennin were now in sight and still standing around Tanuza Kakashi shouted at them, his voice slightly distorted by the water, "Take Tanuza and run! You can't defeat Zabuza he is the"

Zabuza cut Kakashi off, "Demon of the Mist"

Turning his gaze back to the gennin he continued "You brats know nothing of how life truly is, kill or be killed. Tell me, do any of you sheltered kids know what it means to be a demon like me?"

Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes widened to almost comical proportions when Naruto answered, "I may not know what it is like to _be_ you, but I know of you Oni no Kiri. You were a demon born of the blood of your classmates, having killed the rest of your Academy class in the Kirigakure graduation exam. But kill or be killed? That is the law of the streets."

Zabuza seemed to nod appreciatively, before Kakashi shouted for them to run once more,

"Kakashi-sensei, _those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash_ is that not what you told us after the bell exam? Sasuke, I have a plan."

As she finished Naruto tossed a fuma shrunken to a flabbergasted Sasuke, who was still pinching himself after seeing how Naruto was acting, but still coherent enough to catch the weapon and smirk when he realized just what Naruto's plan was. As Zabuza created a few more clones to fight the gennin. Naruto darted forward, using speed and her pick-pocketing skills to strike the clones with her kunai, since she was able to get past most guards to sneak her hands into a pocket, it was actually easier to simply stab with a kunai instead. As soon as she dispersed the last of the clones, Sasuke ran forwards into Naruto's waiting hands where she pushed up on the foot that planted itself on her hands, launching her teammate into the air where he threw her shrunken along with several of his own at the missing-nin. Zabuza simply dodged each of the projectiles and lazily caught the fuma shrunken with his free hand, his eyes widened as the one weapon he had caught had been the special one Naruto had given to Sasuke. Zabuza tried to quickly drop the fuma shrunken as the shadow clone it really was removed its hendge, but he was too slow, allowing the Naruto clone to land a knee to the bottom of Zabuza's chin, jerking his head up and then followed up with lashing out with its other leg to kick Zabuza in the gut. As the missing-nin recoiled from the kick Naruto charged in and kicked his arm out from within the water prison, freeing Kakashi and then quickly twisted around to plant a small shock seal she had read about from her father's notes on Zabuza's back.

As the seal made contact with him, Zabuza gave a grunt of pain as the small paper sent an electrical charge through his body, numbing his nerves enough for Naruto to quickly dart back to Tanuza as did Sasuke. Despite being able to free her sensei, Naruto knew it was only through the element of surprise and wasn't likely to happen again. As Zabuza recovered from the shock enough to bring himself back to a standing position Naruto saw Kakashi flash her and Sasuke a grateful look before returning his gaze upon his opponent. "Your fight is with me."

Naruto watched in amazement as her sensei fought Zabuza, with the lack of unnaturally thick mist Kakashi could use his sharringan to full effect. Both older ninja using water based Ninjutsu to terrifying effect as Kakashi weaved subtle genjustsus to mess with Zabuza's mind, even Naruto felt a shiver of fear crawl up her spine as she watched Kakashi's copy-cat act. It was truly terrifying she thought '_A missing-nin like Zabuza, to be left with nothing but the equipment on your back and yourself, your name, and you title become your only true belongings, and to have those seemingly stolen from you, the thought of being nothing, of someone taking all you have left, your name, your actions, your thoughts, your _identity_. It's horrifying__'__._

Yet as Kakashi seemed to be about to deal the final blow, two senbon came flying from the woods and embedded themselves in Zabuza's neck, causing him to slump down, limp, like a puppet with its strings cut. As the small cloud of dust that rose from the man's fall to the ground settled, a new person entered the scene, wearing standard hunter-nin garb Naruto let out a sigh of relief.' _If that person is a hunter-nin then we won't have to fight him__.' _ Yet by his height Naruto placed his age at about theirs. "Thank you for weakening him, I have been on this man's trail for several weeks."

Kakashi checked Zabuza's pulse, confirming his death before turning back to the hunter-nin and nodding before stepping back to allow the hunter-nin to take the body and disappear into the woods. Turning back to the three gennin Kakashi eye smiled before falling face forward into a dead faint causing Sakura to scream, shrilly.

"Oi, Sakura-chan he's ok just exhausted." Naruto poked a finger in her ear to try and bring her hearing back.

Sakura just glared where as Sasuke looked at her, a small gleam of curiosity in his eye. "Dobe, how did you come up with a plan like that, and if I'm not mistaken you had Zabuza's _respect_ for 'knowing how to survive' what was all that?"

Looking to the side and watching Tanuza frantically try and get over to Kakashi and lift him Naruto bit her lip in indecision '_If I tell them then they might pity me, I don't want that. But it will give them an answer, yet if I be vague then they will just keep pestering me. Kuso!__'_

"It was because we both grew up on the streets." With that statement Naruto left her two confused teammates behind to help Tanuza carry Kakashi, pulling the jounin's hitat-ite over his now closed left eye and telling their client to point the way home, ignoring the curious glances sent her way by her teammates. She knew it was going to be long mission.


	5. frosty intro

**Angel:YAY! next chapter! thanks for the help Nucturne.**

**Nucturne: no problem. Now Sasu, Naru would you do the honors?**

**Sasu&Naru:These two dont own any of us.**

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><p><em><strong>Frosty intros<strong>_

~next day~

Kakashi blearily opened his eye before feeling the familiar weight of his headband covering the eye that was Obito's. Despite regaining consciousness he still felt sore and weak, stifling a grunt of pain he leaned over and reached for some crutches before limping out to meet his team and client's family whom he could hear talking downstairs.

After breakfast, team 7 left to train. Kakashi telling the eager genins it was a chakra control exercise.

"Ok, let get started. I want you to climb the tree without hands." Kakashi said and showed them what to do. Naruto looked at him, she already knew this and water walking thanks to Yijo, but she would put on a show to keep up what's left of her mask, it was so frustrating faking when it was so easy. After an hour of 'training' Naruto made it to the top after asking sakura for help and then passed it on to Sasuke, well at least her version. Sakura's was not very good, for someone as smart as her; she should not go into teaching.

"May I go train in something else, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, Kakashi examined her with a curious gaze before he nodded and she left.

~2 days later~

Naruto looked out from half-lidded eyes; she could feel the aches of her arms and legs still throbbing, an after effect of training. She ate slowly, ignoring the slightly worried looks she was getting from her team for acting so out of character but she could care less, her mask was cracked already and she could only think of sleep.

"You are all going to die,"

Looking up in surprise Naruto saw everyone staring at Inari,"No matter what, no matter how long or hard you train you will all die. Why do you try? Gato is too strong, anyone who stands up to him die."

Naruto blinked, Inari had tears spilling from his eyes and was gazing particularly hard at Naruto. "And you especially! You are always smiling, and laughing. You know nothing you don't know suffering and loss!" By the end of his rant Sakura was looking at Inari with pity, Sasuke was glaring slightly and Kakashi was shooting worried glances at Naruto, whose head was down, her bangs shadowing her face.

"No, I wish I knew nothing, I wish I didn't know what it feels like to starve, go home to nothing, to feel like everyone doesn't even consider you worth a minute of their time. But you know what?" Naruto had spoken with a flat, low monotone, devoid of any emotion as she struggled to hold her anger in. Naruto's eyes were glazed as she stared down in front of her, phantasms of her past swimming over her vision. Inari's words had struck a chord deep within her, dredging up memories she could never forget but could do without.

Naruto knew she should let the subject drop, she knew that Sasuke and Sakura were suspicious of her enough as it was, but she couldn't care. She had bottled up the emotions for so long, she had kept up her act, her mask in silence for so long, she just snapped. She closed her eyes, mentally clearing away the past before opening them again and fixing Inari with a glare so full of pain, loneliness, and loss that he quickly flinched and looked away, unable to hold her gaze. Adjacent to her Sasuke couldn't help but think that Naruto's eyes were familiar, '_Why does the Dobe's eyes remind me of her? Does he know of her? But she said she was cursed; did she go through what the Dobe did? Is that why their eyes are the same?'_

"It is you who know nothing; you have a mother, and a grandfather who love you. You have memories of a loving father. Me? I never even had the chance to make those memories. I know nothing of my parents, for most of my life I thought they just gave me up after I was born, abandoned me to my life. I only learned that they were actually dead three months ago! And I still know nothing else save for the fact that my Father knew fuuinjutsu. I have lived with nothing from them, except for again, three months ago when I finally got something that belonged to them, and it was my father's notes on seals! I have been alone since I was five, and the one who actually cared for me? He died, and I was there watching him as he lay on his deathbed, I buried him myself because nobody cares for an orphaned street rat." Naruto didn't know what was compelling her to spill everything out; she just knew that she couldn't stop. After holding everything in for so long, she just couldn't stop, she knew her words were harsh on Inari but she couldn't stop, her mask was shattered to broken fragments and she couldn't put it back together in time to stop.

Naruto let out a cynical laugh, sounding so world weary that it didn't belong to her, a laugh that just seemed wrong coming from the normally happy-go-lucky blonde. "And the Orphanage? Don't make me laugh, nobody cared for me there. The streets were my home at five when the matron literally kicked me out after burning all I had in front of me. I was the scum under everyone's shoe, have you ever had to steal for food? Have you ever had to sleep in an empty dumpster because it was the only place that was dry? I haven't given up on life like you have, to give up is to die and I will .up. Life is never fair after all."

Naruto was now breathing heavily as if she had ran from Konaha, the emotional stress finally getting the better of her. By now Sasuke had abandoned the Uchiha indifference and was staring openly at her, and Sakura had tear streaks down her cheeks, Kakashi stayed in his corner, Icha Icha nowhere in sight as he fought back surge after surge of guilt, cursing the civilian council mentally in such ways that would make Ibiki run for the hills. Naruto felt her eyes burning with unshed tears but she did not let them fall, she had vowed to stop crying a long time ago, she wouldn't break it now. Getting off her chair she walked to the door amid a stunned silence. Not looking back she called out,

"Not everyone hides behind tears Inari, I'm sorry, I've said too much" Naruto snorted at the thought '_Yea, I have said way too much.' _"I'm going out to train; don't bother looking for me I'll be back by tomorrow."

With that statement Naruto left, slamming the door shut behind her with a resounding bang. Nobody moved, they were all still reeling from Naruto's words, they hadn't been shouted but it would almost be better if they had been, Tanuza had even stopped drinking. A minute passed before Sasuke made up his mind, I'm going after him, and he shouldn't be alone. He is so much like me yet he has had it worse, I can't believe he was hiding this from us. Getting up, Sasuke made to move towards the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him. Looking up he saw his sensei looking at him, when Sasuke shot him a questioning look Kakashi shook his head no. Sakura then finally spoke up,

"Sensei," Her voice was trembling, "Is it true? Everything the bak- Naruto, said? Could all that really be true?"

Kakashi hung his head, and removed his hand from Sasuke's shoulder, he wished he could say no but, "It was a fraction of Naruto's life, and sugar-coated at that."

Sasuke then broke in angrily, "Why? Why is the dobe treated like that? And why hasn't he told anyone?" He didn't know why the dobe's mistreatment was affecting him that much, he had never cared for the idiot before but he didn't like how Naruto's eyes were so much like those he had seen on _her_. Had she received the same treatment?

Kakashi refused to meet Sasuke's eyes, "Because he doesn't want pity, Naruto is prideful and fiercely independent, he wouldn't like it if you two suddenly started treating him differently due to his past, and he has been alone so long I'm not sure if he can adjust to another person being in his life."

"If he is always alone then why not go after him?"

"No Sakura, you two at this point would only pry into his past more, I want you two to leave him alone."

Sasuke didn't like it but he understood Kakashi's words. His view of Naruto was fundamentally changed though, he didn't think he could ever treat him the same be he understood that Naruto wouldn't want pity, he didn't want it either and it sickened him to receive it himself.

Sakura however wasn't done yet, "But Sensei-!"

"No Sakura, Naruto's life isn't as bad as it once was and he won't appreciate anyone butting in because he finally cracked and let people see the real him."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the 'bad as it once was' comment, how could the dobe's life have been worse than what he had mentioned?

Seeing the reaction Kakashi inwardly cringed before sighing in defeat, "Don't tell Naruto I mentioned this, and don't act on it; he will probably hate me for saying this but…" he trailed off,

"When I first met Naruto, it was outside a bar on the outskirts of the slums. I had just left after catching up from a friend of mine who had returned from a mission, I had just stepped outside when I felt someone run into me."

Sakura then breathed out, "Naruto?"

Kakashi nodded, "Hai, he was covered in so much dirt and grime I could only identify him because the rain had washed some of it off. I offered a hand to help him up but he just flinched as if expecting me to hit him and got up by himself. I tried to talk to him but he would say nothing in return."

Sasuke felt a slight chill at that, a silent Naruto was something he had often wished for but it just seemed wrong, Naruto and silent just didn't belong together.

"It was then that I noticed the mob chasing him, I sent him off and told him I would help. Naruto just ran and I sent the mob off in a direction that I knew wouldn't lead anywhere near where he had gone."

Nobody spoke, till Sakura asked the question that had been bugging her since Kakashi started, "Sensei, h-how old was Naruto when this happened?"

The man was silent, eye downcast,

"How old?" Sasuke asked somewhat forcefully

"Five."

Sasuke couldn't help it, "FIVE?! What in Kami's name did he do at five to deserve being chased by a mob?"

Kakashi fixed the raven with a hard stare, "One of the people in the mob mentioned him stealing bread."

Silence settled over the group.

~With Naruto P.O.V.~

I walked through the woods tell I thought I was far enough. I looked around the clearing making sure no one was close. My hand went for my seal pendent and removed it. My henge fell and I was female again. I couldn't hold it in, I couldn't keep everything bottled up. There was a dull thud as I punched a tree, angry tears welling up in my eyes that never dropped. '_Why? Why am I slipping up? Why am I letting that bastard, banshee and Cyclops in? Why is the smallest thing setting me off? Why- why can't I just be normal?'_

Naru punched the tree again, the physical pain from her hand distracting her from the thoughts she did not want to have. Soon she was pouring out all her emotions into her actions, punching and kicking without rhyme or reason, simply loosing herself to the physical monotony to drown her thoughts.

~Haku P.O.V.~

I was walking through the woods and collecting hurbs to treat Zabuza's wounds and thought it was a nice morning. _'I wonder who that blond was. Whoever he is, he is very skilled with seals.'_ I thought as I continued on.

After about 3 min. I came to a clearing that was almost destroyed, and saw a blond girl sleeping, her soft full lips inviting as her thick lashes hid away her eyes. I just stared, even dressed in a baggy bright orange jumpsuit I could see how she was beautiful. I blushed realizing where my thoughts were headed until I saw what was on her forehead: a leaf headband meaning she was a leaf Shinobi. _'Who is she? I didn't see her when Zabuza-sama attacked a few days ago. Must be help, I should take her out so she won't be a problem.' _I couldn't help but hesitate though, she just seemed so innocent sleeping, without realizing it I started to walk over to her when I saw her eyes flutter and she was whimpering in her sleep. _'Probable a nightmare.' _I reached out for her and shook her awake.

"Hey miss, wake up. You can catch a cold." I said as she opened her eyes. She grabbed a kunai and was ready to fight. "Wow, sorry if I disturbed you." She looked at me and relaxed, but remained on guard. What caught my attention were those deep blue eyes. Her soft voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Haku." I replied, and then ask "And who are you, miss?"

"My name is… Naru." She seemed to debate telling me her name.

"What are you doing sleeping out here? You might catch a cold." I stated.

"Training and to calm down." She replied. "And you? What are you doing out here alone?" she asked.

"Picking herb for a sick friend." She looked at me and smiled softly.

"Your friend is very lucky to have a friend like you. Having someone special who cares for you as much as you do them. Maybe one day my special person well see me for me." She said with a sad smile. "Do you want some company and help?" she asked, I looked at her and nodded. We picked herbs for an hour and talked about how to be truly strong, by protecting their special people. After the hour it was time to leave.

"That was nice Haku, maybe I'll see you again." Naruto said with a smile and I couldn't help it, getting closer I grabbed her in a hug. She stiffened before relaxing and returning it somewhat awkwardly. I closed my eyes as I felt the warmth of her body against mine and smelled her scent so similar to the forest around us and a slight tint of ramen, before letting go kissed her forehead. She blushed as I walked away._ 'Today WAS a good day.'_ I thought.

~Naru's POV~

I stood there for a minute and turned to pick up my jacket and put on the pendent and started back for Tanuza's house. When I came in I saw Kakashi waiting for me. He looked up and walked up to her.

"You OK?" he asked pulling me into a hug. I relaxed, Pervert or not he's almost the closest thing to a father I've had, especially remembering when he helped me get away from that mob which I shall never forget. I looked up.

"Ya, just needed some time. Sorry if I worried you and the team." I replied.

"As long as you're safe, by the way you can go get some new clothes. I'm sure you can find something to replace your jacket." He said and I thanked him and turned to leave. I was stopped at the door by Inari.

"I'm sorry." He said and left for his room. I looked back then continued to town. After looking around she found a nice orange t-shirt and a black hoodie with orange trims. Purchased them and started back to the house when a little boy about 5 came up to her and held out his hands. I smiled at him and handed him the small amount of money I had left, it was supposed to pay for my food when I finished the mission, but the kid needed it more and I probably knew how to get the better dumpster food than he did. The kid thanked me then ran. I started back to the house for the night. _'I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to have some trouble.'_

~~~~~~END~~~~~~~~

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><p><strong>Angel: Next chepter will be up soon i hope bye! ^_^<strong>


	6. Fallen Angel

Fallenangel- hey everyone! here the next chapter!

Sasuke- about time.

Angel- hey not my falt!

Nocturne- ya we have college work!

Naruto- can we just stop and let them read?

Angel, Nocturne, & Sasuke- Stare

Naruto- What?

Sasuke- you said something smart.

Naru- Hey!

Angel & Nocturne- injoy!

"Talking"

_'thinking'_

_"Quote"_

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><p><em><strong>Fallen Angel<strong>_

~Regular P.O.V.~

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura where on their way to Naruto's room she was staying in when Kakashi spoke up.

"Let's let him sleep for now. He'll catch up soon, but I think he need a little more time." They all silently agreed and left for the door outside.

~1 hour later~

Naruto woke up to noise downstairs and got all her gear on and went down to see what's up. When she get there she sees two samurais one holding Tsunami and the other going for Inari who was yelling at them.

"I got the girl, grab the brat too." The tallest one said, but Tsunami yelled out.

"No! Please leave my son alone." The man holding her replied with a fine.

"Be happy kid. You'll see another day." The shorter man said and turned to help his partner.

"Didn't your mother's teach you how to handle a lady?" Naruto asked as she came out of the stairway.

"Who the hell are you?!" the tall one asked.

"Naruto, please release Tsunami-san now or you will not like the consequences."

"Like hell we will!" the short man cried as he charged her. She dodged the blade and stuck a paralyzation and chakra seals on his arm. He fell to the ground.

"What the- what did you do to my partner bastard!" the other yelled and charged. She did the same to him. She walked over to the captive Tsunami.

"You alright?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, thank you. You should get going I fear for my father and your friends." Tsunami replied, with that Naruto made a few shadow clones to help them and ran to the bridge. When she got close she heard the sounds of fighting and saw Sakura with our client.

"Sakura-chan, what's going on." She asked.

"Kakashi-sensei is fighting Zabuza and Sasuke-kun is fighting that fake hunter nin." Sakura replied. Then Kakashi yelled for her to help Sasuke and she did as she was told. As soon as she got to the ice dome she was grabbed and pulled in then thrown at Sasuke.

"Naruto, Watch out! This guy is not a joke." Sasuke gasped out. He looked like a pin cushion and his eyes started to turn red with two commas in them. Naruto and Sasuke were trying to dodge, but couldn't. Naruto was breathing hard as was Sasuke then a senbon needle flew and broke her seal pendent and she slowly started to return to her female form as Sasuke jump in front of her and was hailed with senbons.

"NO!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke fell to the ground.

~Naruto P.O.V.~

I caught him as he fell, my heart raced as I saw the light fade in his eyes. _'No! I can't lose him. He's one of the few I have left!'_ I thought as I stared at his pale face.

"Please don't leave me. I don't want to lose you too. I- I love you." I bent down and kissed Sasuke as his eyes shut.

~Sasuke P.O.V.~

Everything was growing cold, blackness creeping in from the edges of my vision. My body was numb, I could not move no matter how much I tried my limbs would not respond. In my mind I cursed my brother, I cursed my fate, and I cursed the fact that I would not get a chance to find her again.

"-Lose you too." The words were broken with sobs, but the voice was hers, unmistakable. Despite how I could feel my body failing me my mind froze in shock, how was she here? Was she really an angel?

"I- I love you." With those words I saw, her tearstained face barely visible from the hazy fog of black that was my vision. But she seemed to be coming closer, it was then I comprehended her words, _'I love you'_ she loved me, but I was dying, I could feel nothing, nothing but her soft lips gently pressing on mine before I felt no more.

~Regular P.O.V.~

Naruto stood up and turned to the nin and he gasped.

"Naru?" he asked.

"You bastard! You killed Sasuke!" She yelled at him as her eyes started to bleed red and red chakra was swirling around her.

"What? I'm a ninja, we kill, it what we do." He replied while trying to think of some way to get her on their side with him. He removed his masked and looked at the now gaping Naru. Her eyes faded back to her blue eyes and the chakra fades.

"Haku?! Why?" she started to cry. Haku came out of his mirror and walked over to her.

"Yes, it is me. I did what Zabuza-sama asked me to." He replied and pulled her into is body and hugged her as she was falling.

"Why me? Does Kami really hate me this much? Why is all I love ripped away from me?" she cried, she couldn't handle it anymore. Haku hugged here tighter. "The first time I start to feel loved again it's riped away. He-he's gone just like Yijo…"

"Why not come with us. Come be free with me." Naru look at his face and smiled a sad smile.

"Running never solves anything. My friends are in Konaha and that were I'll stay. I have a dream and I will make come true. _'It's always a lot easier to let something fall apart than it is to try to hold it together.'_(A/N Yumichika Ayasegawa-Bleach)" She replied, then said "Two men came to the house and tried to take Tsunami, the builders daughter. You will be betrayed." Haku turned, let go, and ran to tell Zabuza. He made it and told him what he had heard from Naru and then Zabuza turned to Kakashi.

"Well, I guess my boss isn't going to pay so there is no need to continued." He said and turned to see Gato and thousands of mercenaries make their way to them.

"I guess your right Zabuza. Mind helping us out?" Kakashi asked. Zabuza just nodded and they both ran in and killed some and Gato. The rest were about to attack when the towns people came and scared them away. They all yelled and cried for joy because they were free again.

~Sasuke, Naruto, & Haku~

Haku walked back to Naru to see her pull out another pendent and put it on. She was in her male form again and turned to Haku.

"He's not dead. I just put him in a death state." He said and was hugged by Naru.

"Please tell no one you know my true gender and me. It's for my safety." She said then turned and bent down and pulled the senbons from Sasuke.

"I will… You love Sasuke, don't you?" he asked, Naru blushed.

"Yes, but as I said in the forest, I want him to know I care and that he would care for me" She replied with a sad smile. Haku took her hand in his and looked into her beautiful blue eyes.

"_I want you to be happy. I want you to laugh a lot. I don't know what exactly I'll be able to do for you, but I'll always be by your side."(A/N Kagome-Inuyasha)_ he said to her and helped her pick up Sasuke and walk over to the rest of the group.

The rest of the mission was boring and uneventful. Sasuke was now training with Kakashi to help master his Shanigan, Sakura was given some scrolls on the human body and was being taught by Haku, and Naruto was with Zabuza who gave her a blade and taught her kenjutsu. Naru loved her blade, it was a katana with a black and red blade and the handle was white with a small chain at the bottom. Then it was time to leave. With heart filled goodbye they left Wave as the villagers cheered 'The Great Naruto Bridge'. They had smiles on their faces they ran towards Konaha.

They made it back to the village and went to the Hokage's office and gave their mission report and asked for Zabuza and Haku if they could join the village. They were able to stay. Things were getting interesting.


	7. AN

**Hey everyone We're sorry to say we are discontinue this story, but if you would like to adopt it PM FallenAngelOfLightAndDarknes s.**


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